Ten students from Brooks Secondary School have each won a $1,000 scholarship and are graduating high school with work experience and a kick start to their careers.
Jim Palm with the Career and Dual Credit program at the school said, while the money comes with “no strings attached,” he would like to see students use it to stay in industries that are short on workers. “From a political perspective we’d like to see them use it for the next level of apprenticeship or tools.”
With the Secondary School Apprenticeship (SSA), students receive the opportunity to begin an apprenticeship while still in high school and earn high school credits at the same time. It also means students will have their Red Seal for work in trades within three years after graduation instead of four. Palm said it decreases the amount of time industries are “floundering” for more workers.
Not only does it give students a ticket to a career, it makes the school-to-work transition easier, he said. To qualify for the $1,000 scholarship, students must fulfill certain requirements, such as being registered in the SSA prior to graduation, graduate with a grade 12 Dogwood or Adult Diploma, and continue working full-time in their chosen trade for five months after graduation.
Students are required to complete 480 paid work hours. Palm added that 90 to 95 per cent of students who participate in the program graduate with the certificate and their diploma. “It’s very good overall for our graduation rate. It is proving to be very successful.”
He said George Abbott, minister of education, was interested in the program, which is only in three or four jurisdictions throughout the province and provides students with work experience in areas like carpentry, flooring or culinary arts.
Students also have the opportunity to participate in the Accelerated Credit Enrolment to Industry Training (ACE IT) program, which takes 50 to 60 students through five trades.
Palm said SSA is also something local businesses should be aware of if they need to hire people while these students are doing their apprenticeships and need the experience.
Students who received the scholarships are Peter Uppenborn, Miriam Abrams, Curtis Best, Ryan Gendron, Jesse Vestering, Mariah Bartholomew, Greg Moore, Tiffany Point, Jeff Kostuk and Drew Jewra.
